VAT Return Request Periods
1. Transactions Subject to Full Exemption
Article 32 of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Law No. 3065 stipulates that the VAT shown on invoices and similar documents related to transactions that are exempt from tax under Articles 11, 13, 14, 15, and the (s) clause of paragraph 4 of Article 17, shall be deducted from the VAT to be calculated on taxable transactions. If there are no taxable transactions or if the calculated VAT is less than the deductible VAT, the undeducted VAT can be refunded by the Ministry of Finance, in accordance with the principles to be determined by the Ministry, provided that the request for a refund is made by the end of the second calendar year following the period in which the transaction took place.
According to the General VAT Implementation Communique, VAT refund requests must be submitted by submitting a VAT refund application letter within two years, starting from the beginning of the year following the year in which the exempt deliveries took place. If this is not done, VAT taxpayers will lose their right to request a VAT refund.
Accordingly, taxpayers who wish to apply for a refund must fill in the “VAT Paid” column in their VAT return for the period following the exempt transaction period and submit a standard refund request along with the documents listed in the relevant sections of the Communique (including guarantees for refund requests made with guarantees) to the tax office by the end of the second calendar year following the relevant period. For refunds requested with the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) VAT Refund Report, this report must be submitted within six months from the end of the second calendar year following the period in which the exempt transaction took place.
Therefore, VAT refund requests related to transactions within the full exemption scope for the year 2020 must be made by the end of 31.12.2022.
2. Transactions Subject to Reduced Rate
On the other hand, according to Article 29/2 of the Law, for deliveries and services with reduced tax rates determined by the President, VAT refunds for the amount of tax that cannot be offset through reduction and exceeds the limit determined by the President must be requested by the end of the following year.
Accordingly, taxpayers must declare VAT related to the refund in the VAT return for the January-November periods of the year following the year in which the reduced rate transaction took place (including any correction returns for the January-November periods submitted by the end of the year) and must apply to the tax office with the standard refund request letter and documents listed in the relevant sections of the Communique by the end of the year following the year in which the reduced rate transaction occurred.
For refunds requested with the CPA VAT Refund Report, this report must be submitted within six months from the end of the year following the year in which the reduced rate transaction took place.
Therefore, VAT refund requests related to reduced rate transactions for 2021 must also be made by the due date of the VAT return for the November 2022 period, which is 26.12.2022.
Best regards,
BİLGENER
